Confusing Hate and Love
by Princess of the Sand Snakes
Summary: "Nothing prepared one for their final moments, not even the occasional brush with death. As Sakura's life rapidly came to a close, she wondered how fate had brought her to this moment. She could see Sai, Naruto, and Kakashi all calling out to her, but all she could seem to hear was the distinct sound of a thousand chirping birds…" SasuSaku centric
1. A Deal Brokered

**Summary:** Nothing prepared one for their final moments, not even the occasional brush with death. As Sakura's life rapidly came to a close, she wondered how fate had brought her to this moment. She could see Sai, Naruto, and Kakashi all calling out to her, but all she could seem to hear was the distinct sound of a thousand chirping birds…

 **A/N:** So, this is based off of something I wrote a very long time ago. It was originally titled "Confusing Hate for Love", but I thought "Confusing Love and Hate" seemed a more appropriate title. I'd like to think my writing has improved since my original version… but I suppose that remains to be seen. This story does not at all follow the final events of the Naruto series, or Naruto Gaiden. It follows the canon manga loosely through the final fight with Kaguya. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

 _ **CHAPTER ONE:**_ _A Deal Brokered_

* * *

"Sakura, you can't be serious!"

"Completely."

"But this is your life! Your future! Why would you give all of that up for _him_?! He doesn't deserve you sacrificing your happiness!"

"It's not for him, Tsunada-sama."

"Well this can't be for you, you clearly want nothing to do with this agreement! Why would you agree to something so horrendous?"

"For Naruto."

Tsunade froze, momentarily baffled by the answer. Had she thought about it rationally, she would have come to the conclusion herself. Of course this decision was for Naruto. He wanted nothing more than to have Sasuke back, reinstated, and for things to go back to the way they had been 6 years ago, before this mess ever began.

"Naruto would not want this for you, will not want this. He'll be furious when he finds out that you've agreed to-"

"He won't be finding out." Sakura interrupted. Her tone was firm, leaving no room for arguments. "All Naruto has strived for since Sasuke left was to bring him home. His every waking moment has been dedicated to this. He made me a promise to bring Sasuke home, and he's told me that he will never stop trying until he succeeds. Though I know he would seek Sasuke forever despite the promise, I feel responsible. If I can do this, sacrifice my happiness for his, then I will.

"But he can never know, Tsunade-sama. If he ever finds out, he will blame himself. He will never forgive himself."

"Just as you blame yourself for his determination to bring back Sasuke."

"It's not the same thing." She said, her temper rising. "Naruto has done everything for this village. He has suffered since he was a baby, having lost both his parents, being shunned and ridiculed by the people he wanted nothing more than to impress, fighting harder, getting stronger than anyone else just to prove himself. He made a promise to me when I was young, foolish, and selfish. I was a blubbering idiot, pinning after a boy who would never…" She paused, composing herself. "...could never love me because of the tragedies that befell him. I was too blind to see what that kind of promise would do to Naruto, how it would eat him up inside if he failed.

"I need to do this."

Tsunade steepled her hands in front of her face and contemplated Sakura's words for a moment. What could she say to that? How could she change her student's mind, when it was so resolutely made?

Tsunade sighed, and straightened in her chair. "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"More sure than I've been about anything."

Tsunade nodded. "Alright then. Shizune! Send him in."

Sakura held her breath, for what, she wasn't sure. She didn't know what to expect when he walked in the door, or what she would feel - hatred, happiness, joy, relief? ...Love? She had spent such a large chunk of her life waiting for him, chasing after him, that now that he was finally here she didn't know what or how to feel.

The door opened, and Sakura resisted the urge to turn around. She stayed rooted in place, keeping her eyes locked on her mentor to prevent herself from giving away how much Sasuke put her on edge, even after all these years.

She heard soft footsteps in the carpet as he entered and approached her. It seemed a little anticlimatic, how uneventful his arrival was. In her imagination, Sakura had always envisioned her, Sasuke, and Naruto meeting on the battlefield; she had imagined blows being exchanged. In the end, they would all reconcile, and would return to Konoha together. Never had she imagined Sasuke returning on his own at the end of the war, without any complaints or mishaps. She had never imagined coming face-to-face with the Uchiha again without Naruto by her side. It seemed wrong, and incredibly dull for all they'd gone through to try and bring him home.

He came far enough into the room so that he was just out of her peripheral vision, and settled to her left. Was that a calculated move to goad her into turning to look at him? She wasn't sure, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of finding out. Silence enveloped the room as Tsunade searched in her desk for the necessary paper work.

Sakura was more than certain that the Godaime was taking her time on purpose, forcing Sasuke to wait. Tsunade was not happy with the terms he laid down in order to keep him from leaving, and she was making it known.

"He shouldn't be demanding ANYTHING!" The Hokage had shouted after Shizune had delivered Sasuke's terms, while simultaneously shattering every empty sake bottle in her possession. Of course, given the revelation of what truly happened to the Uchiha clan, what Sasuke had done to save the village, and Naruto's pressure on the elders to take the lone Uchiha back, they had no choice but to negotiate with him. Naruto was the hero of the village so his word held a lot of sway these days.

After several minutes of rummaging Sakura was losing her own patience, she was certain that Sasuke was ready to blow a gasket. She peeked a glance to her side to gauge how he was taking this, but his outward demeanor showed no signs of annoyance. He stood rather still, in an almost _casual_ pose, like he wasn't about to take her entire future from her.

Sakura quelled the boiling rage that threatened to spill over. She had to remember that this was for Naruto. If she forgot for even a moment… well, it was better not to think about the possibility of that.

Finally, Tsunade pulled out a sheaf of paperwork and handed it over to the Uchiha, who took it and tucked it underneath his arm without so much as glancing at it. Sakura awaited anxiously to receive paperwork of her own, but was met with nothing.

"All of the paperwork is there, I had it drawn up last night. Upon reading it over you will find that most of your terms are being met." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the word 'most'. "Your crimes have been pardoned, and you will be reinstated as a shinobi of Konohagakure. However, as you never successfully completed a chuunin exam, your request to be promoted to anything above genin has been denied. Don't feel so bad about it, Naruto is still a genin as well. You'll be in very good company."

Sakura had to stifle a laugh at that. She could see Sasuke's mood heading south very quickly. "Also…" Tsunade's eyes hardened slightly as she took in the full measure of the man standing in front of her. "As you've probably already guessed from her presence here, Sakura has agreed to your other terms. However, it will be at least two years before that will move forward to completion, possibly longer. She needs to remain an active shinobi for at least that long, while the new world order stabilizes. Sakura is an integral part of Konoha."

Sasuke's mouth quirked downward. "I never requested she be taken off the active roster."

"True, however, that's usually par for the course in situations such as these. Eventually… life happens."

Sasuke shrugged. "No matter the circumstances, I will not demand she be taken off the roster. That is her choice to make."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Choice, huh? Since when is she allowed to make any choices?"

"I'm not forcing her into this decision," Sasuke said. "She has chosen to accept. She is free to change her mind at any time."

Sakura turned to Sasuke, baffled at this admission. Was she really free to…?

Tsunade clucked her tongue in annoyance. "Sure she has the freedom to choose, but then you'll leave, correct?" Sasuke's non-answer spoke loudly enough. "Not much of a choice, when everything is considered. Regardless, two years will be the minimum. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No."

"Good. Finally, since the entire village was destroyed and rebuilt, the old Uchiha complex is, unfortunately, gone. It wasn't rebuilt during the village's reconstruction, since you weren't around and it felt almost… wrong, to do so. As a result, you've been relocated to an apartment on the South West of the village."

Sasuke nodded, accepting the keys offered to him by the Hokage. "That should be everything. You're both dismissed."

"Wait a minute," Sakura spoke up, "that's it? I don't have to sign some kind of agreement, making sure that I honor my word or something?" Sasuke turned to look at her, for the first time since he'd entered the room. His eyes were calculating, seemingly taking her measure.

"I don't need a piece of paper to prove that you'll do as you've promised, Sakura." Her name rolled off his tongue so easily she almost forgot how much time had passed since his departure. "And I don't own you. You are free to change your mind at any point during our agreement. However, my terms remain the same."

"Yeah, I know. Do as you say or you'll leave. I got it, loud and clear, your highness." Sakura's anger flared, and she gave a mock courtesy at him. As soon as she stood up properly, she turned on her heel and banged her way out of the Hokage's office. Shizune jumped slightly at her desk at the sudden departure, but Sakura was too angry to care. She knew that it was not a good idea to show just how much he riled her up, but her temper got the better of her.

"Sakura." Sasuke called at her retreating form, using her name with such familiarity that it almost made her angrier. She stopped, and he stepped out of the office and came within ten feet of her form, though she never gave him the courtesy of turning around. "We haven't had a chance to discuss this. Let me explain-"

She whirled around, anger apparent on her face. "No, let _me_ explain something, Uchiha." She spat out his surname like it was disgusting. "Though I've agreed, that doesn't mean that I have to like it. Nor does it mean that I have to pretend that we're anything but fellow shinobi. I will do what you've asked, but don't expect me to just go back to the way things were when we were children, and don't expect me to treat you like a friend. You haven't earned that right."

If anything, Sakura would say that Sasuke looked almost surprised at her outburst. She allowed herself to feel some satisfaction at that thought. Before he could form any response, she turned and left the building, allowing her rage to propel her away from him. It had taken every ounce of her energy to tell Sasuke off, and as her anger ebbed, all she could feel was empty.

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I'm not the best with updating, but hopefully I'll have another chapter out soon. Thanks for reading!


	2. Bitter Reunions

**Summary:** Nothing prepared one for their final moments, not even the occasional brush with death. As Sakura's life rapidly came to a close, she wondered how fate had brought her to this moment. She could see Sai, Naruto, and Kakashi all calling out to her, but all she could seem to hear was the distinct sound of a thousand chirping birds…

* * *

 _ **CHAPTER TWO:**_ _Bitter Reunions_

* * *

A week passed after Sasuke's official reentry into Konoha's shinobi ranks. Sakura wasn't sure what she had expected after their tense exchange in the Hokage's office but it certainly hadn't been nothing. She hadn't even seen Sasuke since she'd stormed off - not that she wanted to - and not a single one of her friends had mentioned him. Maybe they were waiting for her? He was a touchy subject with the Rookie 9 and Team Gai still, several of them still bore the scars from their failed retrieval mission so many years ago. Neji's particular dislike of Sasuke ran deep, even deeper than their clans former rivalry before the destruction of the Uchiha.

She knew today would change her peaceful ignorance of Sasuke, however, as Naruto was slated to return from his first ambassador mission to Kumogakure. He'd been gone for three months now finalizing an alliance trade renewal, so he had not been present for Sasuke's return. Sakura wasn't even sure he was fully aware of it. Though Naruto's influence on the village as their hero, and Hokage-in-training, had swayed the elders into their lenient treatment of Sasuke, he had not actually put any pressure on them to do so. Sakura had not been told the details of their meeting and subsequent trial - joke that it had been - but she assumed the elders were worried about Naruto's reaction and how it would sway public opinion of them. She shook her head at the thought, finding it both amusing and disturbing at how much power Naruto now held over the village that had so hated him, once.

Though she knew power would never go to Naruto's head, it made her a little uncomfortable to know that so much was placed upon his shoulders. He was the number one figure in everyone's mind and he had the ear of the people. One word from him could shatter anyone's reputation - not that he would - or elevate someone from being a shadow in the background to being Konoha's most eligible bachelor. Just from a word. It was strange to think of how popular Naruto was right now. Of course, the hype would eventually die down once everyone was fully resettled and the war pushed to the back of everyone's minds. Eventually his influence in politics and policies, and how he handled the affairs of the village, would sway some and convince others that they'd been wrong to revere him. No one was loved by everyone, and even Naruto would one day find himself the butt of a joke or two. Hopefully, the village would prosper under him and there would be little resentment towards him, but only time would tell.

Sakura shaded her eyes against the sun, glancing up at the Hokage tower as she weaved her way through the market. Sundays were always busy in the mornings; certain vendors only ventured out on the weekends, and others set up special sales to entice the larger crowds. She didn't mind, though, as she picked her way through the crowded streets humming softly to herself. She spent most of her days walking the sterile halls of the hospital, where she saw more pain than happiness. Or else she spent her days cooped up in the Hokage tower dealing with the aftermath of the war - treaties, trade deals, calls for aid, intelligence on the next biggest threat to society - life had become mind numbing very quickly. Sundays were her peaceful days.

She purchased a bundle of carrots and a head of lettuce from the fruit and vegetable vendor, a young man who showed much interest to a girl with a pretty face, and proceeded to a weapons stall. She'd been neglecting stocking back up on her consumables, since she hadn't been out on field assignments in recent weeks. She purchased a new set of kunai, a bit on the pricey side but worth it for the quality, and a box of empty vials to refill her medics pouch. Tsunade had been clear that she would be staying on the roster at least for two years, so she was sure to be sent out on missions again, and soon. The new world order had not been easy to keep established upon the end of the war. Many people from every nation had not forgotten old rivalries and slights, and who their enemy had been beforehand. Kumbaya and teamwork had held up fine when each shinobi depended on the other for survival, but the civilians had not been present for the battles, for the way shinobi of different nations fought, bled, and died for each other.

The daimyo, as well, had not seen these things take place. Though they knew that without the worldwide cooperation that had occurred no one would have survived, they were too detached from the situation to truly appreciate it. What's more, the war was over, as they had pointed out on multiple occasions, why continue such nonsense after the fact? There had been much fighting amongst nation leaders, and the agreements had been shaky at best. Though borders were open now, Sakura was not sure how long the rocky peace would last. Or who would be the one to break it. She hoped it would be a long time from now. War was ugly.

As her musings progressed she finished her shopping, though she did pause at one last stand to spend the rest of her cash on a beautiful blown-glass crane. She was not sure what had motivated the purchase, or why the crane had even caught her eye, but she tucked it amongst her bags anyway and contemplated where would be best to place it in her apartment. She shifted her belongings to settle the weight evenly between arms and set off for home, only to stop short as she beheld the object of most of her mornings thoughts.

Standing not 40 feet in front of her, calm as day, was Sasuke Uchiha, admiring a display of tomatoes. It was clear from his attire, black shirt and cargo shorts, that he was out for a casual day and had likely stopped her on a whim. What did he do on his days off, now that he no longer roamed the countryside committing crimes in the name of revenge? Was he on his way to the training fields? Did he go out to eat by himself? Did he just… do mundane things like shop for fruit, like normal people? That thought disturbed and confused her more than any of the others that flit through her mind. Imagining Sasuke doing regular people things was still too strange an idea, still to new to her as the image of the cold, cruel man she'd come to know was seared into her brain. It would be hard to oust.

She wasn't sure the protective barrier of resentment she'd built up would ever go away. In truth, she hadn't even been aware of when it had developed, or how it had come to be in place, but she could feel it stirring now as she observed her former teammate. She knew she was being weird and creepy, very teenage-Sakura-esque, and she was sure Sasuke had already noticed her staring, but she couldn't drag her eyes from him as he plucked tomato after tomato; he inspected them, and then either put them in his back or plopped them back onto the display. Inspect, plop, inspect, bag, inspect, plop, inspect, plop, inspect, bag. He stood up straight after bagging about 8 tomatoes, paid the vendor, and then immediately turned to catch her eye.

Sakura felt her face heat up slightly at having been caught, even though she knew he'd already known, and hated herself for it. She didn't want him to think that she cared about how he perceived her. She didn't want him to think he still held any kind of power over her. She still had yet to face the life altering choice she'd made, the choice he'd forced her to make, and she wasn't sure when she would be ready to. Sasuke began to make his way over to her and she felt the resentment rise into her throat. It burned with every word she had not thrown at him the other day, and she choked on the urge to say them. His approach was cautious and measured, clearly gauging her reaction. She could have stood her ground, she could have sneered at him and said something nasty, she could have stayed to find out what he wanted - the smart thing, considering she still had not discussed their agreement with him - but instead she turned on her heel and marched in the opposite direction. She knew it was petty and beneath her to just ignore him, but she couldn't stop herself from moving and would be too embarrassed to stop now.

She expected him to follow her, or appear in front of her, but to her surprise his looming presence receded behind her as she left the market. She chanced a glance over her shoulder and found him standing, as if rooted in place, next to the trinket stand she had purchased the crane from. His bag of tomatoes hung at his side as he watched her retreating back. Part of her wanted to turn back and apologize for her rudeness, but a bigger part of her felt satisfaction for the indecencies she had and would suffer because of him.

* * *

Hours later, still unsure where to place her glass crane, Sakura was startled by a vicious banging on her front door. A soft smile spread across her lips as she temporarily placed the trinket on the tall windowsill in her living room - it certainly didn't feel right but would have to do for now - and headed for the front door. Only one person would have the audacity to be so merciless to her front door and expect to get away with it.

She opened the door and, unsurprisingly, found Naruto standing on her doorstep with his signature grin in place. "Sakura-chan!" He chirped brightly at her as he entered her apartment - uninvited as he never waited for such things - and shucked his shoes off in the entryway. She couldn't help but laugh at the routine of it, as her teammate often complimented his rude antics with subconscious politeness. She would never understand him, not that she really wanted to. Naruto's quirkiness was one of her favorite things about his personality.

She paused in the entryway as she watched him proceed into her apartment and turn the corner into her kitchen. She frowned, knowing that she would not get to enjoy the normalness of the routine that was Naruto's visits to her apartment forever, as she had once envisioned. Her deal with Sasuke would change those kinds of things, and she had to push down the lump forming in her throat. She hated it, she hated him, for putting this on her. She would have to lie to her best friend about the circumstances of it all and it made her want to shatter windows and scream bloody murder. She schooled her expression, and her swirling thoughts, and tried to grab hold of the happy feelings that were slipping through her fingers, her quiet Sunday life forgotten for the second time that day. Thoughts of Sasuke were only going to get more frequent with Naruto's return, so she had to reign in her emotions now or else she'd never swallow what she would have to do.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of this home invasion?" She called as she made her way back down the hallway and into the kitchen. She found Naruto rummaging through her fridge, a pastry dangling from his mouth, as he perused her morning's purchases.

"Well, I'm back from Kumo, and I missed you, of course!" He said as he snatched up her milk carton and proceeded to pour himself a glass. He sat on her counter, cup in hand, and grinned between bites of pastry. "Plus, I have no food in my apartment because I've been gone for so long."

"So you thought you'd just help yourself to my refrigerator?" She teased; he had the decency to look sheepish. "Do you want to go out for ramen, then? I didn't buy enough food this morning to accommodate your appetite."

Naruto snorted, then finished the pastry and downed the rest of the milk. "I would, Sakura, but I kind of…" He trailed off, a blush creeping up his neckline. Sakura raised her eyebrow, as she was certain she hadn't seen Naruto blush since their genin days.

"Hold on, you're saying no to ramen?" An incredulous note entered her voice. "Are you sick? Did someone die? Are you the real Naruto?" She lifted her hands up as if to mock punch him and he hastily scoot across the counter and out of her reach, real fear in his eyes. He probably still remembered how quick she was to anger - and punch - given the right circumstances.

"Oi, oi, of course I'm the real Naruto! And I am going out for ramen, it's just, I'm already going with someone." He hopped off the counter and deposited the glass into the sink - as usual - and turned to her with a smile. Her playful demeanor slipped away as she realized who he was probably going with.

"Oh, I guess you guys probably have a lot to catch up on." She said, betraying her disappointment, though she was surprised he hadn't invited her. Naruto was always talking about how he wanted Team 7 to go back to normal, and surely he couldn't know about the deal? Shishou had promised, and Sasuke wouldn't be that quick to rile Naruto up. She realized she hadn't told him not to mention the deal to Naruto - not that he would unless he got worked up and used it to taunt his rival. She huffed out a sigh realizing she was going to have to speak with him and ensure his silence on the matter. "I'm surprised you came here before going to see him, unless you ran into him when you reported to Tsunade-sama?"

Naruto tilted his head at her, opening his mouth in confusion. "Him who? What are you talking about, Sakura?"

Sakura froze, confused by Naruto's confusion. Surely he knew about… "Wait a second, who are you talking about?" She countered to buy herself a minute to confirm whether he knew about Sasuke's arrival or not. She assumed Tsunade would tell Naruto, but the fact that he hadn't come barging in her demanding to know the exact moment when Sasuke returned and 'WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER, SAKURA' probably should have tipped her off.

"Well, Hinata and I hadn't gotten the chance to talk about everything that happened during Pein's invasion, and the things that were said, and it was so long ago that I couldn't wait any longer so I kind of asked her out on a date." Naruto jumbled so many words together so quickly that it took Sakura a moment to register what he'd said. A grin spread across her face and she grabbed his arms, jumping up and down enthusiastically.

"That's AMAZING! Oh my god, I've been waiting for your to wake your knucklehead up for years and ask that girl out! I can't believe you didn't tell me sooner! What are you waiting for?!" She began to usher him out of her apartment, hoping to distract him and convince him to leave before he could remember that she'd mentioned a "him". He went along with her gladly, seemingly having forgotten that piece of information, and slipped his sandals on as she opened the door.

To Sasuke Uchiha standing on her doorstep.

She froze, as Sasuke lowered his hand from where he'd clearly been poised to knock. She watched as his eyes locked onto Naruto behind her, whose back was turned to them as he finished putting on his shoes. Something strange flashed across Sasuke's eyes, but was gone too quickly for Sakura to decipher. She didn't need to look to know when Naruto turned around and noticed Sasuke, as the silence that befell them seemed to tinge the air with a strange scent. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his onetime best friend, and Sakura tore her gaze from him to look at Naruto.

His expression was something she had never seen on his normally cheerful demeanor. A storm of emotions raged across his face - surprise, happiness, sadness, anger, loneliness, regret, loss - they seemed to mix and jumble inside him until his expression settled on one of anger. Anger directed at her and not Sasuke. She had to stop herself from gulping as the taste of Naruto's chakra seemed to fill the room.

"This is…" He trailed off, trying to catch his breathe, as though he'd just run a marathon. He gestured vaguely in Sasuke's direction, as though his presence there was normal. "When you said 'him', you meant, you were talking about…."

Naruto ran his hands across his face and took a step towards her. "And you tried to throw me out so I wouldn't ask about him. Why didn't you tell me he was back, Sakura?" She visibly flinched at his tone.

"I don't know, I assumed Tsunade-sama would tell you, I…" She felt uncomfortable, caught between Naruto's anger and what was likely Sasuke's, now that he knew she'd tried to avoid speaking about him. "I wasn't sure how to tell you when I realized you didn't know, it's not like he came home after a long mission, Naruto." She deliberately spoke as if Sasuke was not there, and knew it was likely only pissing him off more than he already was. She wondered if Naruto noticed the tension between them, and what he thought about the nature of Sasuke's unexpected drop in. What would he assume? "Then you mentioned Hinata and I didn't want to upset your plans with her because I knew you'd just go running to find him the moment I told you."

Naruto seemed mollified for a moment, his eyes flicking between her, Sasuke, and the path beyond them as if debating what he should do. It was clear this decision was one had had not prepared for, and his chakra was just barely boiling beneath the surface. He had never been good at controlling himself, and he was easy to read because of it. It was rare to see Naruto so angry he exploded, but Sakura feared that they were quickly approaching that point. Despite herself, she took a step towards him and put her hand on his arm. "Naruto, this can wait. I'll be here to yell at later, you should go talk to Hinata. She'll be upset if you just don't show up."

He opened his mouth as if to protest but then snapped it shut. "Fine, but you're not off the hook, Sakura." She frowned, as he rarely spoke her name without the friendly attachment. He proceeded to shrug off her hand and then came face-to-face with Sasuke fully for the first time since the war ended 8 months ago. They stared each other down, reminding her briefly of their genin days, before Naruto ground out, "The same goes for you, asshole."

Sasuke, never one to back down from a challenged, huffed out the barest of laughs. "Oh yeah? Bring it, dobe." Naruto did not rise to the bait, however, and brushed gruffly past Sasuke and headed down the street. A few moments passed before Sasuke once again turned his attention to Sakura. He was still standing on her threshold and she realized, unlike Naruto, he was not going to just invite himself in. Not that she wanted him to. But she fully felt the cavern between them as she made the comparison.

"You might as well come in," she said wearily, and he stepped inside. She turned away, not wishing to notice if he took his shoes off like he would have done when they were children. Politeness was something that had been ingrained into him as a child, and he had stayed on her doorstep until she'd invited him in, but she was too upset and riled up from Naruto's departure to torture herself further with comparisons.

He followed her into the living room where she plopped ungraciously onto the couch. She looked up at him expectantly where he stood mirroring her expression. She resisted the urge to look at his feet.

After a few moments she just raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to sit down or is looming your new favorite hobby?"

He scoffed and sat in the armchair opposite her. He didn't look at home, but neither did he look uncomfortable. In fact, he didn't look like the previous exchange had ruffled a single feather. She bristled slightly at the thought that he could remain so unaffected by events that unfolded around him but swallowed her rising resentment. Why couldn't she control herself around him?

"So, why are you here, Sasuke?" She voiced the question when he did not speak first.

"Because you wouldn't let me speak with you at the meeting. And you ran from me this morning."

"I did not run from you."

"Fine, you walked very quickly from my general direction." He snapped. "But we still have things to discuss."

She bit down on the response she wanted to throw at him and took a deep breathe. Calm.

"Okay, then, fine. Speak, we might as well get this out of the way now." She pressed her back into the couch and drew her knees up, staring at him expectantly. "Though I'm not sure what there is to discuss. I read your terms, I know what I agreed to."

"Yes but you don't know why."

"Why?" She laughed sardonically. "Of course I know why Sasuke, I'm not a moron. Lets run down the list, shall we? Number one of your negotiation terms: Sakura must come and live with you. Obviously this is necessary for number two of your terms: Sakura must marry you and become the Uchiha matriarch. Because clearly you can't waste any time telling the world you plan on rebuilding your clan. Which leads us to term 3: Sakura must bear your children." She couldn't hide the anger and disgust that had entered her tone. "So I can become your baby factory and help you restore your clan." The look on his face told her that he had not expected the conversation to nose dive this quickly - and that he wasn't as good at concealing his emotions as he thought. Did he really not realize what he was asking of her? Was he that blind? "I sold myself to you, Sasuke, right down to my reproductive organs, all so that you'd stay in this stupid village, because it wasn't enough for you to just come back and try and reclaim your life. You had to claim my life, too!"

"I didn't force you into this, Sakura," again he spoke her name with that familiarity that both irked her and made her ache with a profound sadness, "you agreed." The same argument he'd used against Tsunade, which she couldn't help but laugh at. She noticed, bitterly, that he hadn't denied a word she'd said, either.

"You say that like it's true, Sasuke, like you actually believe it. Of course I had a 'choice', I could have said no. But then you would have gone back off into the world and left us all here like the dirt beneath your shoes. Naruto never would have understood why you'd ask that of me, why you wouldn't return without those terms being met. He'd never stop looking for you, just like he never stopped trying to bring you back when you left."

Unwanted tears brimmed in her eyes and she turned away from him, blinking furiously to rid herself of them. She hated this, hated how much he riled her up and got her emotions swirling. She couldn't believe how quickly she could move from impassiveness to anger to tears with so little interaction. She calmed herself and turned back to him.

"Do you know what Naruto promised me, the day that you left? What I so selfishly asked of him?" He watched her expectantly. "I begged Naruto to bring you home. I pleaded with him not to let you be taken away. He promised me, swore to me, that he would bring you back no matter what. He made a binding oath with himself that day, too, that he would not fail me. When he didn't bring you home after that mission, he told me that he would never give up until you were back. He made that promise to me, and even though you and I both know he would have gone after you time and gain regardless, the failure that he felt was my fault. I watched that promise eat away at him for years while you traipsed around the world seeking your vengeance." She spat the last words, an almost decades worth of bitterness pooling inside her. "So if I had said no, I know that promise would have continued to eat at him. I couldn't let that continue, so I sacrificed whatever life I had planned out for myself for him, because I will not let him continue to suffer at my expense when I can so easily fix it."

She took a shuddered breath. "Speaking of which," she stood up, mostly to distract herself, and crossed to the windowsill to pick up the glass crane. "I don't want you mentioning our deal to Naruto. He will blame himself for me agreeing to it, and he will hate you for making me do it. All Naruto has ever wanted is for things to go back to normal, so that's what I want. I want things to be normal again, for his sake."

She clutched the crane in her hand, gently so as not to break it, and realized that no matter where she put it in her apartment, it would never be its permanent place. Once she left this apartment to move in with Sasuke, she would no longer have a place that was her own to put it. She felt the weight of it in her hand like lead.

"Fine," he said after a few moments. "But it will be hard to explain when you move into my apartment."

Her mind raced with possible excuses until she settled on the least desireable, but most plausible, of them all. "Well, if you're insistent upon marrying me and having children, then we might as well make it seem like we want to be with one another. Like, we pretend to date, and it will progress to where we move in together. That will be easily explained."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Seems like a lot of work to spare Naruto's feelings."

"You wouldn't understand our friendship." She snapped, the cruel part of her wishing to wound him with what he'd missed out on during his absence. "Our bond runs deep. I would do anything to keep him from being hurt, even if that meant pretending to love you."

His typical unreadable mask was in place, she wasn't sure if he'd even heard what she said, until he nodded and stood up. "So how long before you move in, then?"

She couldn't believe how little any of this seemed to affect him. It was clear she wanted nothing to do with him, but he still wanted to proceed with this agreement, this farce of a life, and for what? She couldn't bring herself to ask. "Well we want it to look natural, don't we? So a few months to a year."

He seemed to mull this over for a few moments before nodding again. He stood there for a few moments before turning towards the entryway. "I'm sure Naruto will gather us when he's ready to pummel me and yell at you. I'll see you later." He threw over his shoulder as he slipped on his sandals and quietly left.

Sakura sank onto the couch, clutching her crane in her hand, feeling as though she related very much to the glass bird, alone in the world.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Wooooo…. it's been awhile since I started this and subsequently forgot about it… sorry for this major delay in this chapter. Life has been very topsy turvy over the last year, but I've finally found my writer's voice again. Hopefully I won't turn around and disappear again, but I'm not an incredibly reliable author, I must admit. I hope you enjoyed this, either way.


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